Abrasive blasting operations are often used to create a roughened appearance and texture on surfaces of parts. Abrasive blasting involves forcibly propelling abrasive material against a part until its surface attains a desired texture. The abrasive material, often referred to as blasting media, is typically made of mineral particles, such as silica, alumina or zirconia particles. When the particles strike the surface of the part, the particles leave multiple craters on the surface and a final rugged landscape on the part.
Despite the usefulness of blasting for creating textured surfaces, blasting techniques have limitations. For example, controlling the type of texture can only be done in a global sense. In particular, the size of the particles of the blasting media dictates the size of the craters and the force at which the blasting media is propelled against the surface dictates the depth at which the craters are indented within the part. Thus, controlling media particle size and media pressure can be used to determine a final textured surface design. However, the size and depth of each crater cannot be individually controlled. In addition, blasting adds internal stress to the part since blasting involves impinging particles at high energy against the part. If the part is thin, the stresses imparted from the blasting process can deform the part. This is because blasting can impart a compressive stress to the surface of the material by the same mechanism as shot peening.